Bill (Japanese: ソネザキマサキMasaki Sonezaki) is a Pokémon Researcher, widely regarded as an expert in many fields. He has made many appearances in the games. Bill is most commonly found in his Sea Cottage, which is north of Cerulean City at the end of Route 25. He is most notable for his first appearance in the Generation I games and for his Pokémon Storage System that has been pertinent in the entire main series.

In the games

Bill is the talented and famous inventor. He invented the original Pokémon Storage System and Time Capsule.

People, including himself, call him a PokéManiac because of his large collection of both common and rare Pokémon. The first one he caught was an Abra; however, his favorite Pokémon are Eevee and its evolutions. Bill also gives a free Eevee to Ethan/Kris/Lyra in Generation II and its remakes and another one to Bebe in Generation IV, which is later given to Lucas/Dawn.

Bill also has several friends that share his interests in computer technology. One of them is Celio, his old friend from One Island in the Sevii Islands. He is also close with Lanette and Bebe, the storage system developers of Hoenn and Sinnoh, respectively.

Bill also has some fans, like PokéManiac Brent of Generation II who calls the player with information about him. Most of his calls are trivia about Bill himself and his family, such as the fact that Bill's mother used to be a Kimono Girl and that Bill's younger sister can't wink. He also mentions that Bill might have a crush on the flower girl in Goldenrod City. Brent also revealed the fact that Bill is lactose-intolerant, which was also stated by Celio in Generation III.

Bill has been shown to have a large family. In Fuchsia City live his adult sister and grandpa, who in Generation II watches over Bill's cottage on Route 25 while he is visiting the rest of his family in Goldenrod City.

In the Japanese versions of the games, Bill speaks in Kansai dialect like most Goldenrod City natives.

In Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, Bill can be found at the Cerulean Cape, initially performing an experiment on Pokémon teleportation. However, Bill accidentally becomes combined with the body of a Clefairy and requires the player's help to fix the problem. In Pokémon Yellow, the player's Pikachuwill be confused by the whole ordeal, and shocked among seeing Bill return back to his original form. After things are back in order, he speaks about his Pokémon Storage System and what was formerly on the PC menu as "Someone's PC" will change to "Bill's PC." He will also give away an S.S. Ticket so that the player can board the S.S. Anne. He gives the player the ticket as a gift for changing him back into a human, and also claims that the rich crowd of the S.S. Anne isn't his type. If the player exits Bill's house and goes back in, they can check his computer for information on Eevee and its three stone evolutions, his favorite Pokémon.

Quotes

"Hiya! I'm a Pokémon... ...No I'm not! Call me Bill! I'm a true blue Pokémaniac! Hey! What's with that skeptical look? I'm not joshing you, I screwed up an experiment and got combined with a Pokémon! So, how about it? Help me out there!"

"No!? Come on, you gotta help a guy in deep trouble! What do you say, chief? Please? OK? All right! When I'm in the Teleporter, go to my PC and run the Cell Separation System!"

After helping him

"Yeehah! Thanks, bud! I owe you one! So, did you come to see my Pokémon collection? You didn't? That's a bummer. I've got to thank you... Oh here, maybe this'll do. That cruise ship, <scS.S.Anne</sc>, is in Vermilion City. Its passengers are all trainers! They invited me to their party, but I can't stand fancy do's. Why don't you go instead of me?"

Hoenn

While visiting Lanette in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, players can check one of her computers to find an E-mail from Bill. The English translation of the e-mail makes it seem as if Bill is crediting Lanette for upgrading his system, whereas the Japanese text clearly establishes that he and Lanette are co-developers of the original system.

Sinnoh

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Bebe mentions that Bill invented the original PC storage system, and that she tinkered with it to make it easier to use. Upon giving the player an Eevee, Bebe refers to Bill as a friend from Johto to whom the Eevee previously belonged.

In the anime

Bill had previously been trapped in a Kabuto costume for what he claims to have been hours (in the dub only; the original didn't state how long he had been in the costume) until Ash finally comes to press the release button for him. Afterwards, Bill fulfills a request made by Professor Oak to give Ash and his friends a lesson on the basics of Pokémon, during which Bill shares the idea that there may be many more than just 150 species of Pokémon. The remainder of his appearance is spent focused on explaining to Ash and company his recent project, involving a mysterious Pokémon whose cry can be heard across the sea.

Pokémon

Studied

Dragonite

As Bill was reminiscing, the same sound from his memory was heard and a large figure appeared, rising from the ocean. As it came closer, it was revealed to be the outline of a Dragonite. As it came closer to the lighthouse, Team Rocket was shown scaling the cliff, and upon seeing the giant Dragonite, they began launching a barrage of missiles at it. This angered Dragonite, and it smashed the top of the lighthouse and began to walk away. Bill called out at it to stay, but to no avail.

In the morning, Bill seemed to be at peace with the fact that he didn't get to learn more about the Pokémon and was simply grateful he got to see it at all. With another life lesson from Bill, the heroes said goodbye and continued on their journey.

In the manga

In the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

Bill in The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Bill appears in the third chapter of The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Clefairy Tale. He works with Professor Oak researching a colony of Clefairy at Mt. Moon. He was the one to discover the colony of Clefairy and has befriended many of them. Together with Professor Oak and Ash, he assists the Clefairy with an evolution ceremony.

In the same chapter, Bill also reveals parts of his past to Ash. In the beginning, Bill only became a Pokémon Trainer because he didn't like school and wanted to take a leave of absence, but as time went on, he discovered that he deeply cared for his Pokémon. He decided to become a Pokémon researcher after witnessing his Ivysaur evolving into Venusaur.

Pokémon

Ivysaur → Venusaur

When Bill was telling Ash his story about becoming a Pokémon Trainer, a flashback showed his Ivysaur evolving into a Venusaur. This motivated Bill into becoming a Pokémon researcher.

In the How I Became a Pokémon Card manga

In the first chapter of How I Became a Pokémon Card, a younger Bill rescues a lost Dratini from an angry crowd and it lives with him for a couple of days, until its father, an angry Dragonite, begins to go on a rampage. Dratini returns home, promising to always be friends with Bill.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga

When Red and Green were searching for the Moon Stone, they stumble across Bill and his wife who were transformed into a leopard and Mew respectively. The Moon Stone the Mew took was actually the antidote to change back into their human selves. As soon as that happened, both Red and Green ran away after noticing Bill's hideous appearance in human form.

Pokémon

Temporary

In the Pokémon Zensho manga

Bill appears in Vermilion City where he transformed into a Nidoran♂. Satoshi comes by and mistakens him for an actual Nidoran. He ends up catching him and Bill tells Satoshi that the Nidoran is him. He then has Satoshi place him in a machine that will separate his human self from his Pokémon self.

Pokémon

Nidoran♂

Prior to Satoshi's arrival, Bill ends up being merged into the male Nidoran's body in a Pokémon transporter. As soon as Satoshi shows up, he ends up catching Nidoran♂ but releases it after finding out that it was a human. Nidoran♂ got separates from Bill after telling Satoshi how to use the transporter to separate Bill from the Nodoran's body.

Trivia

Bill is the only male character in charge of a PC storage system, running that of the players of Kanto and Johto games. The characters in charge of the storage systems in the other three main regions are all female.

Bill being mixed with a Pokémon during a teleportation experiment seems to be a direct reference to the movie The Fly, where a scientist experimenting with teleportation pods ends up combined with a fly.

In the anime, Mewtwo is shown on his lighthouse, which may indicate he knows of its creation.

In the anime, Bill has green hair, and appears to be wearing formal clothing. In the games, his appearance differs greatly.

Many rumors sprouted up during the time of Generation I where if the player could travel to the gap which appeared at the back of Bill's House, they would encounter Mew. This proved to be false and to stop further rumors, the gap was removed in the Generation III remakes.

In Generation II and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a fan of Bill's named Brent will reveal trivia about Bill via the Pokégear. The information shared include the fact that Bill's younger sister can't wink, Bill's first Pokémon caught was Abra, his mother used to be a Kimono Girl, Bill is lactose intolerant (also claimed by Celio in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen), he isn't very good at Pokémon battles, and that Bill is attracted to the Goldenrod Flower Shop owner's daughter.

In the anime, Bill is portrayed as having an English accent, while in the Pokémon Adventures manga, he is portrayed as having a southern American accent.

The Pokémon Bill is mixed with is different in each canon: in the games, he is mixed with a Clefairy, in the Pokémon Adventures manga he is mixed with a Rattata, and in the anime he is trapped in a Kabuto costume.

Names

Language

Name

Origin

Japanese

ソネザキマサキMasaki Sonezaki

From 正木 masaki, Japanese Spindle. It is also similar to みさき misaki (cape), referring to where he lives.